Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wild, Dangerous Beasts are Everywhere!

One of my bigger problems is all of the dangerous animals we encounter in our travels.  I have kids of all ages and it seems that most places we go they are like bait.


Last year we spent the winter in central and south Florida.  I couldn't believe all of the alligators!  They were everywhere.  One campground had a pond in it, and guess who lived there?  Yes, an alligator!

The parks we walked in and playgrounds we played in had signs everywhere that said to beware of alligators!  Why in the world have they not killed them or at least relocated them?  Kids run right by those ponds every day!
This sign is found on the way into the Florida Keys!

Then, of course, there were the sharks in the ocean.  I have never let my kids watch Jaws, and never will.  We had a lot of fun playing in the surf and kayaking the waves.  Cody got a little freaked once when he saw something swim by him in a wave, while he was on the kayak. 

Cody on his kayak at Playa Linda, Florida


I actually paid to hold an alligator!  I rested it on by pregnant belly.  The kids thought I was crazy!
 But then they did it, too!

We can't seem to get away from snakes.  I grew up in the northwoods of Wisconsin.  Nothing deadly can live up there, except bears, lymes disease carring wood ticks, and millions of mosquitos.  But, when I was a kids I didn't even really notice them.  Up there, though, no poisonous snakes.  I could walk through a swamp and not even worry about it. 

Living in Missouri, I have had to get used to copperheads.  We had 13 on our property one year!  We saw one in northeast Kansas, in Marysville.  It got real close to Shae and Josie.  Shae was so mad at it, he chased it down the hill with a tree branch, trying to kill it!

There was one, huge rattlesnake at Superstition Mt. near Phoenix.  He was right on the side of the trail, all coiled up.  Nasty thing. 

Heading into South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana brought a whole nother' level of beast.  Mountain Lions are down right evil.  I hate the way they watch us at the zoo.  Then the black bears, grizzlys, and moose, sure keep us on our toes.  I remember hiking in Glacier National Park.  We all sang, "This is the Day", clapped our hands, rang bells, carried bear spray, and stayed together as we walked to see an amazing water fall.

While at Yosemite, we giggled that the sign said to not even leave food in the open because bears will break into our cars! 

We did see a grizzly and two black bears at Glacier National Park.  I was thankful we were in our van, but just in awe of those magnificent creatures.  Now, if I had been on foot, it would have been another story!

A grizzly at Glacier National Park


A black bear at a bear encounter in Bozeman Montana.
 A black bear at Glacier National Park eating huckleberries.

Black bear in Glacier National Park

Yummy huckleberries


Grizzly at bear encounter

Since being in Missouri, we have killed 3 rattlesnakes and two or three copperheads!  I can't believe it!  I have decided there is nowhere safe, no place is free of its beasts, I just have to learn to live with them, or at least in the same forest as them.  Now, if they come after me or my kids, well, that is another story.  I have hunted my whole life and am not afraid to kill an animal of any sort.

I remember in Key West, there was a scorpion.  It was on my kid's toys.  I took their play hammer and beat it so badly that the only thing that was left was a claw!

I unloaded a whole clip on a copperhead, just to make sure it was dead.  I didn't want to get close to check, so I just kept shooting.

Now, I did check the law, and it is illegal to kill poisonous snakes in Missouri unless they are a threat to people.  Well, all of these were in our yard and where the kids play.  We had to kill them.

Speaking of scorpions, there was a very poisonous one sitting on our atv tire when we were in Arizona.  Cody kept it in a cage for a while until it climbed out.  It was a good thing he didn't have it in the camper! 

Lastly, Cody was riding his atv this afternoon and came across a huge tarantula.  I am thankful they aren't very harmful.  He wanted to catch it of course.

We try to read up on what are the dangers in a particular area or state.  Education is the one of the best deterrents to fear.  We try to learn all we can, and then do all we can to not be a victim.  Beyond that, it is out of our control. 

We pray and trust and have a lot of fun!

There is always something, everywhere.  We enjoy our trip and deal with what each day brings.

6 comments:

  1. I discovered your blog while searching for families living in RVs. We are selling our house on 16 acres and moving to our 5th wheel. I know it can be done but sometimes I get scared.
    We felt the lord leading us to get debt free asap so he can use us somewhere. I have lots more reading to do but I am enjoying your blog so far.
    I have one too if you want to come for a look see.
    BTW, I have a married daughter who lives in Forsyth Mo, near Branson. Sounds like you are somewhere in that area.

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  2. Be sure to check out our website about our trip. It is www.smittysinfo.com

    We have been the process of updating, so there are a few pages that have not been completed yet.

    Let me know if you have any questions. If you have older children, have them check out my kids blogs, they talk about full time travel, too. I will checkout your blog. What is the address?
    Sheri

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  3. You can just click on my name or go here:http://doingmybestforhim.blogspot.com/
    It seems like we have many similar intrests. I have a 17 year old who is in her 2nd year of bible school at Baxter Springs Kansas. We are way in the panhandle of oklahoma.
    My husband is an engineer too. He would like to find a job like your husband that he can do from home and we can travel like you.
    I am so happy to have found your blog. I sure am enjoying it.
    I have 5 daughters total. Two are married, the oldest Brooke has two daughters. The next one Kaleena just got married a year ago this month.
    Then there is the 17 year old Joy in college.
    At home is 16 year old Mollie and 14 year old Hannah. I will check out your kids blogs and have my girls check them out too.
    If you know of any jobs like your husband has please let me know. I appreciate it.

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  4. Oh and I am to the part where you are talking about seeing the pastors while shopping and the kids being onery. Our last pastors became our very good friends. They were with us days on end. We even share a camper or cabin at camp meeting. We love them like they are our own kids. Anyway. They know we are not perfect and we know they are not perfect. They have three small kids and another on the way. We just all love God and do our best to follow him and do his will.
    They moved away to Alvin, Tx. over a year ago and we spend quite a bit of time traveling there or them coming here.
    We finally found a new church we feel we are suppose to serve for now and the pastors there are great too.
    Anyway, all this to say. We are all human and working toward the same goal.

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  5. HaHaHa!!! :D :D Mom, you forgot to mention plague infested...du du du da da!!!! PRAIRIE DOGS!!!! HAHAHAHA :D :D Those were pretty dangerous...since they had the BUBONIC PLAGUE and all... ;D

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  6. Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post. taste of the wild reviews

    ReplyDelete

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